August 25, 2024 • 34 mins
Ever wondered how connecting with nature can lead to profound inner transformation? This episode of Resonate, featuring Sharon Ní Chuilibín, will show you just that. Together, we explore how moments of wonder and cosmic energy can realign us with our true selves. Sharon's vivid descriptions and insights into ancient Irish sites and traditions reveal the historical and spiritual significance that can enrich our lives with creativity and fearless authenticity.
This episode also brings to light the universal threads of devotion and healing found in Sikhism, Sufism, and traditional Irish music, celebrating an inclusive approach to spiritual growth.
Find hope and beauty amidst challenging times with Sharon's healing energy, shared through her music, and learn how to connect with her work for further healing and self-discovery.
Connect with Sharon:
Website: www.soulcompass.ie
Instagram: @rivers_of_eternity
LinkedIn: @sharon-ní-chuilibín2022/
Thanks for listening! To book a free consultation with Aideen visit https://www.confidenceinsinging.com/contact/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Aideen Ni Riada (00:02):
Welcome to the Resonate podcast with Aideen.
I'm Aideen Ni Riada, and myguest today is Sharon Ni
Chuilibin.
Hello, Sharon, and welcome.
It's great to have you here.
I'm going to read a littlefrom your bio just to let people
know a little bit of yourbackground, and I'm really
excited to get into a juicyconversation with you about soul
(00:26):
and creativity and music andconnecting to the deeper
energies that we have availableto us through nature and life.
So Sharon is a mother, artist,singer, songwriter, teacher and
intuitive healing facilitatorbased in County Mayo on the wild
Atlantic coast of Ireland.
She helps people to connectwith Irish language and cultural
(00:51):
heritage and facilitateshealing through soul realignment
, kundalini yoga and meditation,creativity and original music.
She can help you experiencemore energy and joy as you live
in a way that is aligned withwho you are at a soul level.
Thank you, sharon, for beinghere.
Tell me a little bit about thissoul level, because it sounds
(01:16):
to me like, when people aren'taware of what that might be,
that they may not beexperiencing life in as much joy
as they could.
How do you explain soul levelto people?
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (01:34):
Thanks, Aideen.
It's great to dive right in onthe deep level from the
beginning.
Aideen Ni Riada (01:40):
Give you the hard question first.
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (01:41):
Yes, so I guess if you've ever stood
looking at at the ocean and justthe vastness of that ocean, and
you might imagine yourselfstanding there with the waves
coming towards you and your feeton the sand beautiful
spaciousness and vastness andexpansive space that's there in
(02:06):
front of you, looking out as youdo, if you're standing at the
west coast of Ireland, and um,so, so much of who we may think
we are in our minds and whowe're told we are, and when our
culture, through its limitingfilters, projects upon us as
(02:27):
human beings is contrary orundermining the reality of a
human in that vastness of our,first of all, our connection to
the energy of the cosmos, of the, the source, energy that we are
(02:47):
part of, which people call God,goddess, that pushes through
each flower, that makes all thatwe eat, that nourishes us, and
it's become ever more clear thatthe trajectory of Western
civilization has been movingaway from that, so that, beyond
(03:11):
naming, beyond gender, beyondlimitation, that abundance of
energy that is born and presentin us as the moment we're born,
just, humans are incrediblypowerful and we innately, in our
(03:34):
intrinsic being, can becreative, playful and and
fearless.
There's so much that conditionsus into limitation, but if we
know ourselves as part of Source, as part of God, the Divine,
(03:58):
without the filters of culture,or maybe people hear that word
and think of religion, but it'san innate capacity.
We are beautiful and so, toanswer your question, I'm just
(04:19):
trying to set that contrastbetween our experiences that we
have of the awe and beauty ofall creation of nature and maybe
to put it in context.
The ancient Greeks and Platowould write about this
understanding of nature beingthe handwriting of God.
(04:39):
And it's there in, for example,in the ancient medical system
which would have been now knownas herbalism, I guess, where
there is healing in naturepresent for us.
But it's also the doctrine ofsignatures, how plants and herbs
actually appear, like what theycan heal, like you can read
(05:02):
into, like nature speaks to usand I've experienced that myself
.
That's where I find my wonderand enchantment and joy and my
life.
In the ideal days and this ismost days, I'm not glad to say I
(05:30):
like to get up really early, inthe dark, if I can, and be
there for the sunrise, andwitnessing that moment and the
sunrises is so precious andthere is a sense of each day is
(05:51):
like a whole life, each breathwhen the sun rises, the light
first of all there's the hint oflight and then the slivers of
light come through and it'sincredible that we have that
energy flowing through to ushere on this planet have been
(06:27):
used to divide people fromthemselves and for a lived
experience of the wonder ofsource, of God, of creation that
we are a part of, is todayperhaps an urgent topic for
recognizing that that's thestumbling block, if someone says
, the different boxes people puteach other ourselves into,
whether it's through ourinherited legacies of culture
(06:51):
and language, our perceptualcapacities being atrophied
through our uses of technology,our education systems lacking
the framework through which toeven experience and perceive
reality as it is unfolding inevery moment.
We know that native cultures,there is only the now.
In Native American one, readingrecently, the sense that this is
(07:15):
now and the wonder that is ineach moment, if we're not living
in trajectories and narrativesthat were established, like if
we're able to be present withthe eyes, through the eyes of a
(07:36):
child, really, I suppose, iswhat we come back to as well.
So I was saying that quality ofsoul can be creative, playful.
That quality of soul can becreative, playful.
There's a sense of wonder andjoy.
That's who we are.
(07:58):
So, yes, I suppose, peeling back, that we're talking about All
that takes us out of life andlife force, energy, all that
atrophies our capacity toexperience ourselves as part of
all creation and, I suppose,part of my anim.
(08:27):
In Irish there's the word anim,which is like the word name.
Anim also is the word for soul.
But when you come to stand insome ancient places in Ireland,
stand in some ancient places inIreland.
I've stood in the dark of Dúch,which is near Newgrange.
(08:51):
It's aligned with the settingsun on the mid-winter solstice
and the incredible presencethat's in these ancient places.
The knowledge that in a way,there is no death when there's
(09:12):
the vastness of the cosmos asyour altar, in a way that we are
part of such a wondrousuniverse and the space of wonder
itself is an attribute of thesoul, because we are at that
(09:36):
threshold, ever, at thatthreshold of becoming and being
and experiencing.
Aideen Ni Riada (09:43):
So I wanted to just to to speak to that, if
that's okay from the point ofview of a practical, I'm just
standing here and what you'vebeen saying, in all of what
you're saying, which sounds likea very, it's like a high bar,
that when you say it with suchbeauty and connected with, with
(10:08):
the energies of, like the oceanand with the sacred places, but
in a practical way every singleday, how does you, how do you
connect with your soul?
And you're saying, throughwonder, through seeing what's
right there in nature, throughnoticing the sun rising or
(10:31):
setting, and I just love that.
That's very accessible.
What are the other ways thatyou would say make this soul,
whether you are in a city orwhether you are, you know, uh,
surrounded by, by, you know,lots of kids that you're looking
after, how do you practicallyhelp someone to feel that wonder
(10:55):
in their everyday life?
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (10:58):
well, I suppose on a physiological level
, getting very practical, um,being able to calm the nervous
system and being able to breathedeeply in meditation practice
breathing practice and can helpto slow things down, to be able
(11:21):
to connect with that sensitivitythat we can have and our
capacity to listen.
And I suppose it leads tolistening to ourselves, to our
inner wisdom and to thatinfinite part of ourselves that
(11:42):
knows, that knowing part andthat takes the capacity to
really quieten things down andstep away from the distraction
and the bombardment ofstimulation and those cycles of
trying to achieve belongingexternally, to find ourselves at
(12:03):
home in ourselves and connectwith that abundance.
That's a kind of it's like thisimage of we're sitting on a gold
mine, we're sitting on thechest of jewels of our own
brilliance, our own capacitiesthat many of us be conditioned
(12:24):
to being distracted from.
And I remember when I starteddoing meditation um, so I teach
kundalini yoga meditation aswell but it started like a small
amount of time which felt likelike three minutes was like god,
I had so much time, and then Ifilled it to 11 minutes.
But then now I'd be like isn'tit lovely to think that I'd
rather sit and meditate ratherthan watching something
(12:48):
distracting my mind that youbecome so grateful I am for this
spaciousness and it's a kind ofclearing and offloading of the
burden of the subconscious mindor thought, or all the thousands
of thoughts from the blink ofan eye that we release, being
(13:08):
able to create space for forourselves, for a deeper wisdom
within can I ask you where youfirst connected with that, that
form of meditation um, and howthat changed your life, where
you were before and what was?
Aideen Ni Riada (13:27):
how did that affect the person you are now?
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (13:33):
I suppose I've always been someone.
I was influenced greatly by myfather actually, who's from
Rossport in the West, in theGaeltacht, and he grew up with
Irish and he would talk to thetrees and you know we really
love nature, so there was asense of a presence being there
(13:53):
and he awakened my eyes to thewonder of that sense as well, so
I would have been able toappreciate the stillness and the
beauty around me.
But I went through times in mylife where I had very difficult
(14:15):
periods.
I had to leave my daughter'sfather and, I suppose, being
able to slow down when someone'sin a response of being, if
someone is traumatized, it'slike you can be just speeding up
and doing a lot and not able toplan for the future, not able
(14:38):
to regulate emotions, beingoverwhelmed by emotions.
So I've experienced intenselypainful emotional stuff.
For a long time I was theperson who would call people up
like and just just couldn't,just couldn't do another thing,
just so much pain, because I'dbe very sensitive person and I'd
(15:00):
be quite empathic.
So I didn't have the tools, um,and I suppose, though as well I
have to mention that camethrough me, through, through
dreams.
So I I was in art college and,um, I had a dream in which my
friend of mine in the class diedvery gruesomely and, uh, I was
(15:23):
so upset.
I went and told her and, longstory short, she's working with
this man who's a healer inDublin, and then George Rattigan
.
Then I started going to him andpart of his methods is
re-entering dreams andunderstanding these images and
that relation to the internallife, I suppose really took off
(15:46):
through his influence as well.
It was over 20, 22 years agonow.
And then in I found KundaliniYoga.
I think it was 2011 or so.
I was living in Kinsale 2011 orso I was living in Kinsale
(16:12):
before that anyway, just, it wasjust such powerful medicine
because you work with the bodyin a very intense way.
So if you're somebody who'sexperiencing intense emotions
and your nervous system is kindof out of whack, it's like it
gives you a format to meetyourself with all your stuff and
gives a pressure cookerexperiences to transform what
(16:36):
you're coming at.
And then the meditative part.
For me there's also the mantras, the use of sound music that
came through that practice thathas opened up so much for me
(16:56):
through I suppose it's thelifestyle and the teachings of
the Sikh Gurus as well.
I've really resonated with.
I really resonate with.
I practice Japji in the morningsof Guru Nanak, who is Nanak
means no-nos, being very humble.
So it's this absolute spirit ofdevotion to the divine.
(17:23):
And there's just so muchmedicine in the Gurbani that the
language is in talk about theNād.
So the language is in avibration that affects our
consciousness, so when you chantit, when you speak prayers,
that it also releases thesechemicals in our mind and that
(17:46):
helps you physiologically toexperience these heightened
states.
But it's a technology for allof humanity.
It's not like a meant to bejust for a few.
It's there, available for usand I I suppose I came and I've
(18:10):
answered the question a veryroundabout way, but I came as
well through.
I've been very interested inworld music and different
cultures.
So I studied ethnic musicologyfor a master's and looked at
Sean-nós singing.
So I was very drawn to theQawwali music of Pakistan, the
Rumi, the Sufis and that spaceof the idea, of the word and
(18:38):
vibration and sound.
So I had this feeling of howSean-nós, the traditional Irish
singing house, similar to theIndian traditions, the Carnatic
music and the in Islam.
I would have listened to a lotof Middle Eastern music as well.
Aideen Ni Riada (18:58):
So that feeling of a one culture of devotional,
you know being intoxicated bythe presence of the divine in
every moment, really it's sobeautiful, it's wonderful to
hear that you've had such a rich, you know kind of influence on
(19:20):
your music and that it's so, Iwould say, interdenominational.
It's so um, I would sayinterdenominational, it's so
inclusive.
And I know that not everybodyum is aware of how, um, how
supportive other spiritualtraditions other than maybe the
(19:41):
one they've grown up with.
And you mentioned earlier howwe are, all you know, have our
cultural identity.
We have our identity around.
What is, what is a support tome?
But what you're saying rightnow is that you were able to
allow in supportive spiritualenergies and guidance from very
(20:03):
different traditions than whatyou would have grown up with.
Does that come from youropenness, like that real?
You know that, you know I'm,I'm in wonder, so wonder allows
me to open up more rather thanclose in more or be specific in
my approach.
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (20:24):
Well, I'd say Aideen.
It comes from suffering andfrom really studying and
researching and exploring andcalling in prayer for guidance
and for help.
And I feel when we call forhelp, it does come different
(20:47):
forms.
I am also very much.
I think that the presence ofChrist, of Iosa, is incredibly
underestimated in our world.
I think I have this song thatcame to me rest your heart in
Jesus.
But it's that sense that he'salive and he's present now.
(21:09):
So many people are waiting forhim to return.
He's here and there's twopeople remembering he's here
with us.
He's here with us now, withyour listeners, in this moment,
(21:32):
and I feel the spiritualrichness and the healing that's
present through Christianity.
It's a very great tragedy of howmuch it's been distorted and so
many people have, as I say,thrown the baby out with that
bathwater.
You know Catholicism and what'shappening.
This is a very big topic to getinto, but I feel that sometimes
(21:52):
it's very sad.
It's like people playingfootball teams, religions you
know, I'm this, I'm that.
But God, if God is in all of usand ever present and has never
forsaken us and ever present andhas never forsaken us, and when
we ask for help, it's presentlythere for us to remember to
pray, to call for help andguidance and whatever religion
(22:16):
you have been raised in, even tojust remember to ask for help.
And I feel, though that's awhole other conversation,
looking at how people's capacityto perceive and experience and
appreciate and receive thespiritual help that's present to
(22:39):
us, how that's been maybeatrophied or influenced in
unserving ways, I feel there'sthe balance between the
masculine and the feminine in asacred recognition of the
(23:02):
neutrality of the soul thatdwells in all of us.
I think that's a good startingpoint.
We're talking of soul if werecognize that energy is not
destroyed.
It is only basic law in science.
It transforms from one form toanother.
(23:23):
When we look at nature, everytree gives, when it's mature,
many hundreds of seeds.
There's so much abundance ofthat creative capacity.
But when it's recognized in theperception of, so, if we move
out of, if it's possible to comewith me this, moving out of the
(23:44):
linearity that we're soentrenched in to perceive the
eternity, what is eternity?
And when you look at thecapacity of each generation of,
say, an oak tree, if it's nottampered with genetically or
whatever, that it, that itproduces its acorns, if its
(24:06):
environment is there, that that,in that acorn that you hold in
your hand.
It contains untold generationsof oak and there is a capacity
and there has been in nature ofthat vastness of perpetuating
(24:26):
from the ancient times throughto now.
It holds the seed of tomorrow,but everything is present in
this moment, in that seed too,and when humanity has lost the
capacity of wonder and thecapacity to uphold the
(24:48):
conditions for infinity, bothwithin ourselves and within how
we operate on the planet, that's, in a way, could be seen as a
symptom and as a consequence ofthat distortion that's happened
in how we perceive ourselves assoul and how the place of God or
(25:13):
as the divine within all of usbecame a tool for oppression and
control and domination anddivision within the human family
.
So that's a lot.
There take another conversationto go into that.
Aideen Ni Riada (25:29):
And it's quite prickly as well, because you
have to remember everyone'ssensitivities well, it's
interesting within that, as wellas the idea of the identities
that we ascribe to.
You know that we choose tobelieve that you know this is
important or that's important,or the fact that my you know, my
(25:52):
sibling is this political partyversus my political party, or,
like we're often choosing somany limiting um beliefs about
ourselves and those around us.
What would you say on apractical level, would help
someone, um you know to toidentify some of that and start
(26:21):
teasing those things out alittle bit um for themselves,
because, as as you said beforewe came on it's it's an
individual journey.
We need to also work on thesethings within our own life, our
own thoughts, our own smallinteractions on a daily basis
(26:43):
yeah, absolutely.
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (26:46):
Um, so you're asking me, what are the
practical level actions?
Actions to bring kind ofspiritual perceptions home to
how we are with one another?
I suppose, if we can rememberthe, there's this.
(27:06):
I suppose it comes from workingin groups as well, where you
have the sense of a field ofenergy that's bigger than any
one person, or bigger than thegroup themselves, or even in our
conversation, that there's athird presence.
This is what.
So, being able to attune oneselfto acknowledge that as well,
(27:30):
rather than getting entrenchedin the duality of self and other
or the tension of conflict, toacknowledge the witnessing
presence and the compassion thatcan be invoked through that,
and also acknowledging thehumility in that we don't know
(27:54):
what we don't know.
The humility in that we don'tknow what we don't know and that
sometimes the capacity toactually allow for that
unknowing is a portal to wonderand other solutions.
So to be able to sit with thenot knowing as well, which is a
(28:19):
very difficult thing to do in aculture that's maybe often one
person trying to demonstratepower over another to convince
them there's a tension in that.
Yeah, so being able to honorthe unknown and, through that,
access our genius, maybe that ismore than the sum of our parts,
whether it's two people talking, whether it's a couple, whether
(28:46):
it's a group of people, beingable to honour that.
And you know, I think it'sbecoming ever more important to
have a space for that, theunknown, maybe even the
unknowable, but that there ismore than just us and our little
.
Important to have a space forthat, the unknown, maybe even
the unknowable, but that thereis more than just us and our
little.
We think we know, but there'ssuch a vast amount of other
perspectives, other valuableknowing that might be able to
(29:12):
access us if we're able to giveit space, yes, and the thing
that's coming to my mind is howto sit in any moment and wait
rather than react or respondquickly.
Aideen Ni Riada (29:32):
because that's what's happening is, we're in a
pace of life where we'reresponding quickly and other and
technology responds so quicklyto us that this pace seems to be
relentless.
But to be able to see theunknown in a situation, to be
able to sit with someone andhear them out and not expect
(29:55):
something and not have aresponse prepared in your own
mind, that's a big ask for mostpeople and I think it will take
um, um, practice of beingpresent, practice of breathing
in a situation when you're withothers, um, because even in the
(30:20):
way that you tend to speak, youhave a lot of patience with the
moment.
You you don't tend to rush inwith your words, and I'm
wondering if the listeners couldapply that in a situation, a
practical situation of theirlives, and see the value of that
(30:40):
to pause, maybe, breathe,listen, and what would you say
to someone who's in that exactmoment?
What do they need to keep thatability to stay there and not,
(31:01):
you know, filter back into theold pattern?
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (31:06):
those visualizations are great and
remembering to.
I sometimes like to feel myfeet on the ground or just
imagine the vastness of space,even if you're indoors, just
suddenly let all the walls falldown and just feel that
spaciousness.
Let it be big enough to holdwhatever emotion, whatever stuff
(31:28):
you're dealing with.
Let it go on and on to be avery big space and take a breath
and then return.
That could all happen in theblink of an eye, just to come
back and allow yourself thatbigger container.
Because we know that whenthings are, when we're feeling
tight and tense, it's often thatpressure of you don't have
(31:49):
enough space, so allowing it allto just diffuse, and just for a
moment.
Aideen Ni Riada (32:00):
It's beautiful.
We're coming to the end of ourconversation and I just have so
loved your perspective.
There's so much depth in it andso poetic in the way you speak.
Now, I'm just grateful for that, and I'd like to thank you on
(32:22):
behalf of the listeners for the,for the ways that you've made
it practical for them to be ableto work with what you were
saying.
Is there anything else thatyou'd like to say to the
listeners before we wind thingsup in a few minutes?
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (32:38):
able to give permission for your
intuition to guide you and toknow that you are loved as a
(33:04):
child of the universe.
It's really like there's somuch.
I know we're in a very, verydark time and the planet it
seems, but there's also so muchbeauty in the world and in
ourselves, so much potential, sobeing able to anchor into that
(33:28):
deeper wisdom a greater spacefor it in your life, to just
listen.
Aideen Ni Riada (33:34):
I'm so grateful to youaron for coming onto the
podcast today.
I feel a lot of healing energycoming through this conversation
.
We will be um giving youlisteners the um access to
sharon through her website, andshe has amazing music that you
(33:55):
can access as well.
I'll be putting some links inthe show notes.
Thank you all for listening.
Thank you, sharon, for beinghere and goodbye from us today.
Thanks, thank you.
Welcome to the Resonate podcast with Aideen.
I'm Aideen Ni Riada, and myguest today is Sharon Ni
Chuilibin.
Hello, Sharon, and welcome.
It's great to have you here.
I'm going to read a littlefrom your bio just to let people
know a little bit of yourbackground, and I'm really
excited to get into a juicyconversation with you about soul
(00:26):
and creativity and music andconnecting to the deeper
energies that we have availableto us through nature and life.
So Sharon is a mother, artist,singer, songwriter, teacher and
intuitive healing facilitatorbased in County Mayo on the wild
Atlantic coast of Ireland.
She helps people to connectwith Irish language and cultural
(00:51):
heritage and facilitateshealing through soul realignment
, kundalini yoga and meditation,creativity and original music.
She can help you experiencemore energy and joy as you live
in a way that is aligned withwho you are at a soul level.
Thank you, sharon, for beinghere.
Tell me a little bit about thissoul level, because it sounds
(01:16):
to me like, when people aren'taware of what that might be,
that they may not beexperiencing life in as much joy
as they could.
How do you explain soul levelto people?
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (01:34):
Thanks, Aideen.
It's great to dive right in onthe deep level from the
beginning.
Aideen Ni Riada (01:40):
Give you the hard question first.
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (01:41):
Yes, so I guess if you've ever stood
looking at at the ocean and justthe vastness of that ocean, and
you might imagine yourselfstanding there with the waves
coming towards you and your feeton the sand beautiful
spaciousness and vastness andexpansive space that's there in
(02:06):
front of you, looking out as youdo, if you're standing at the
west coast of Ireland, and um,so, so much of who we may think
we are in our minds and whowe're told we are, and when our
culture, through its limitingfilters, projects upon us as
(02:27):
human beings is contrary orundermining the reality of a
human in that vastness of our,first of all, our connection to
the energy of the cosmos, of the, the source, energy that we are
(02:47):
part of, which people call God,goddess, that pushes through
each flower, that makes all thatwe eat, that nourishes us, and
it's become ever more clear thatthe trajectory of Western
civilization has been movingaway from that, so that, beyond
(03:11):
naming, beyond gender, beyondlimitation, that abundance of
energy that is born and presentin us as the moment we're born,
just, humans are incrediblypowerful and we innately, in our
(03:34):
intrinsic being, can becreative, playful and and
fearless.
There's so much that conditionsus into limitation, but if we
know ourselves as part of Source, as part of God, the Divine,
(03:58):
without the filters of culture,or maybe people hear that word
and think of religion, but it'san innate capacity.
We are beautiful and so, toanswer your question, I'm just
(04:19):
trying to set that contrastbetween our experiences that we
have of the awe and beauty ofall creation of nature and maybe
to put it in context.
The ancient Greeks and Platowould write about this
understanding of nature beingthe handwriting of God.
(04:39):
And it's there in, for example,in the ancient medical system
which would have been now knownas herbalism, I guess, where
there is healing in naturepresent for us.
But it's also the doctrine ofsignatures, how plants and herbs
actually appear, like what theycan heal, like you can read
(05:02):
into, like nature speaks to usand I've experienced that myself
.
That's where I find my wonderand enchantment and joy and my
life.
In the ideal days and this ismost days, I'm not glad to say I
(05:30):
like to get up really early, inthe dark, if I can, and be
there for the sunrise, andwitnessing that moment and the
sunrises is so precious andthere is a sense of each day is
(05:51):
like a whole life, each breathwhen the sun rises, the light
first of all there's the hint oflight and then the slivers of
light come through and it'sincredible that we have that
energy flowing through to ushere on this planet have been
(06:27):
used to divide people fromthemselves and for a lived
experience of the wonder ofsource, of God, of creation that
we are a part of, is todayperhaps an urgent topic for
recognizing that that's thestumbling block, if someone says
, the different boxes people puteach other ourselves into,
whether it's through ourinherited legacies of culture
(06:51):
and language, our perceptualcapacities being atrophied
through our uses of technology,our education systems lacking
the framework through which toeven experience and perceive
reality as it is unfolding inevery moment.
We know that native cultures,there is only the now.
In Native American one, readingrecently, the sense that this is
(07:15):
now and the wonder that is ineach moment, if we're not living
in trajectories and narrativesthat were established, like if
we're able to be present withthe eyes, through the eyes of a
(07:36):
child, really, I suppose, iswhat we come back to as well.
So I was saying that quality ofsoul can be creative, playful.
That quality of soul can becreative, playful.
There's a sense of wonder andjoy.
That's who we are.
(07:58):
So, yes, I suppose, peeling back, that we're talking about All
that takes us out of life andlife force, energy, all that
atrophies our capacity toexperience ourselves as part of
all creation and, I suppose,part of my anim.
(08:27):
In Irish there's the word anim,which is like the word name.
Anim also is the word for soul.
But when you come to stand insome ancient places in Ireland,
stand in some ancient places inIreland.
I've stood in the dark of Dúch,which is near Newgrange.
(08:51):
It's aligned with the settingsun on the mid-winter solstice
and the incredible presencethat's in these ancient places.
The knowledge that in a way,there is no death when there's
(09:12):
the vastness of the cosmos asyour altar, in a way that we are
part of such a wondrousuniverse and the space of wonder
itself is an attribute of thesoul, because we are at that
(09:36):
threshold, ever, at thatthreshold of becoming and being
and experiencing.
Aideen Ni Riada (09:43):
So I wanted to just to to speak to that, if
that's okay from the point ofview of a practical, I'm just
standing here and what you'vebeen saying, in all of what
you're saying, which sounds likea very, it's like a high bar,
that when you say it with suchbeauty and connected with, with
(10:08):
the energies of, like the oceanand with the sacred places, but
in a practical way every singleday, how does you, how do you
connect with your soul?
And you're saying, throughwonder, through seeing what's
right there in nature, throughnoticing the sun rising or
(10:31):
setting, and I just love that.
That's very accessible.
What are the other ways thatyou would say make this soul,
whether you are in a city orwhether you are, you know, uh,
surrounded by, by, you know,lots of kids that you're looking
after, how do you practicallyhelp someone to feel that wonder
(10:55):
in their everyday life?
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (10:58):
well, I suppose on a physiological level
, getting very practical, um,being able to calm the nervous
system and being able to breathedeeply in meditation practice
breathing practice and can helpto slow things down, to be able
(11:21):
to connect with that sensitivitythat we can have and our
capacity to listen.
And I suppose it leads tolistening to ourselves, to our
inner wisdom and to thatinfinite part of ourselves that
(11:42):
knows, that knowing part andthat takes the capacity to
really quieten things down andstep away from the distraction
and the bombardment ofstimulation and those cycles of
trying to achieve belongingexternally, to find ourselves at
(12:03):
home in ourselves and connectwith that abundance.
That's a kind of it's like thisimage of we're sitting on a gold
mine, we're sitting on thechest of jewels of our own
brilliance, our own capacitiesthat many of us be conditioned
(12:24):
to being distracted from.
And I remember when I starteddoing meditation um, so I teach
kundalini yoga meditation aswell but it started like a small
amount of time which felt likelike three minutes was like god,
I had so much time, and then Ifilled it to 11 minutes.
But then now I'd be like isn'tit lovely to think that I'd
rather sit and meditate ratherthan watching something
(12:48):
distracting my mind that youbecome so grateful I am for this
spaciousness and it's a kind ofclearing and offloading of the
burden of the subconscious mindor thought, or all the thousands
of thoughts from the blink ofan eye that we release, being
(13:08):
able to create space for forourselves, for a deeper wisdom
within can I ask you where youfirst connected with that, that
form of meditation um, and howthat changed your life, where
you were before and what was?
Aideen Ni Riada (13:27):
how did that affect the person you are now?
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (13:33):
I suppose I've always been someone.
I was influenced greatly by myfather actually, who's from
Rossport in the West, in theGaeltacht, and he grew up with
Irish and he would talk to thetrees and you know we really
love nature, so there was asense of a presence being there
(13:53):
and he awakened my eyes to thewonder of that sense as well, so
I would have been able toappreciate the stillness and the
beauty around me.
But I went through times in mylife where I had very difficult
(14:15):
periods.
I had to leave my daughter'sfather and, I suppose, being
able to slow down when someone'sin a response of being, if
someone is traumatized, it'slike you can be just speeding up
and doing a lot and not able toplan for the future, not able
(14:38):
to regulate emotions, beingoverwhelmed by emotions.
So I've experienced intenselypainful emotional stuff.
For a long time I was theperson who would call people up
like and just just couldn't,just couldn't do another thing,
just so much pain, because I'dbe very sensitive person and I'd
(15:00):
be quite empathic.
So I didn't have the tools, um,and I suppose, though as well I
have to mention that camethrough me, through, through
dreams.
So I I was in art college and,um, I had a dream in which my
friend of mine in the class diedvery gruesomely and, uh, I was
(15:23):
so upset.
I went and told her and, longstory short, she's working with
this man who's a healer inDublin, and then George Rattigan
.
Then I started going to him andpart of his methods is
re-entering dreams andunderstanding these images and
that relation to the internallife, I suppose really took off
(15:46):
through his influence as well.
It was over 20, 22 years agonow.
And then in I found KundaliniYoga.
I think it was 2011 or so.
I was living in Kinsale 2011 orso I was living in Kinsale
(16:12):
before that anyway, just, it wasjust such powerful medicine
because you work with the bodyin a very intense way.
So if you're somebody who'sexperiencing intense emotions
and your nervous system is kindof out of whack, it's like it
gives you a format to meetyourself with all your stuff and
gives a pressure cookerexperiences to transform what
(16:36):
you're coming at.
And then the meditative part.
For me there's also the mantras, the use of sound music that
came through that practice thathas opened up so much for me
(16:56):
through I suppose it's thelifestyle and the teachings of
the Sikh Gurus as well.
I've really resonated with.
I really resonate with.
I practice Japji in the morningsof Guru Nanak, who is Nanak
means no-nos, being very humble.
So it's this absolute spirit ofdevotion to the divine.
(17:23):
And there's just so muchmedicine in the Gurbani that the
language is in talk about theNād.
So the language is in avibration that affects our
consciousness, so when you chantit, when you speak prayers,
that it also releases thesechemicals in our mind and that
(17:46):
helps you physiologically toexperience these heightened
states.
But it's a technology for allof humanity.
It's not like a meant to bejust for a few.
It's there, available for usand I I suppose I came and I've
(18:10):
answered the question a veryroundabout way, but I came as
well through.
I've been very interested inworld music and different
cultures.
So I studied ethnic musicologyfor a master's and looked at
Sean-nós singing.
So I was very drawn to theQawwali music of Pakistan, the
Rumi, the Sufis and that spaceof the idea, of the word and
(18:38):
vibration and sound.
So I had this feeling of howSean-nós, the traditional Irish
singing house, similar to theIndian traditions, the Carnatic
music and the in Islam.
I would have listened to a lotof Middle Eastern music as well.
Aideen Ni Riada (18:58):
So that feeling of a one culture of devotional,
you know being intoxicated bythe presence of the divine in
every moment, really it's sobeautiful, it's wonderful to
hear that you've had such a rich, you know kind of influence on
(19:20):
your music and that it's so, Iwould say, interdenominational.
It's so um, I would sayinterdenominational, it's so
inclusive.
And I know that not everybodyum is aware of how, um, how
supportive other spiritualtraditions other than maybe the
(19:41):
one they've grown up with.
And you mentioned earlier howwe are, all you know, have our
cultural identity.
We have our identity around.
What is, what is a support tome?
But what you're saying rightnow is that you were able to
allow in supportive spiritualenergies and guidance from very
(20:03):
different traditions than whatyou would have grown up with.
Does that come from youropenness, like that real?
You know that, you know I'm,I'm in wonder, so wonder allows
me to open up more rather thanclose in more or be specific in
my approach.
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (20:24):
Well, I'd say Aideen.
It comes from suffering andfrom really studying and
researching and exploring andcalling in prayer for guidance
and for help.
And I feel when we call forhelp, it does come different
(20:47):
forms.
I am also very much.
I think that the presence ofChrist, of Iosa, is incredibly
underestimated in our world.
I think I have this song thatcame to me rest your heart in
Jesus.
But it's that sense that he'salive and he's present now.
(21:09):
So many people are waiting forhim to return.
He's here and there's twopeople remembering he's here
with us.
He's here with us now, withyour listeners, in this moment,
(21:32):
and I feel the spiritualrichness and the healing that's
present through Christianity.
It's a very great tragedy of howmuch it's been distorted and so
many people have, as I say,thrown the baby out with that
bathwater.
You know Catholicism and what'shappening.
This is a very big topic to getinto, but I feel that sometimes
(21:52):
it's very sad.
It's like people playingfootball teams, religions you
know, I'm this, I'm that.
But God, if God is in all of usand ever present and has never
forsaken us and ever present andhas never forsaken us, and when
we ask for help, it's presentlythere for us to remember to
pray, to call for help andguidance and whatever religion
(22:16):
you have been raised in, even tojust remember to ask for help.
And I feel, though that's awhole other conversation,
looking at how people's capacityto perceive and experience and
appreciate and receive thespiritual help that's present to
(22:39):
us, how that's been maybeatrophied or influenced in
unserving ways, I feel there'sthe balance between the
masculine and the feminine in asacred recognition of the
(23:02):
neutrality of the soul thatdwells in all of us.
I think that's a good startingpoint.
We're talking of soul if werecognize that energy is not
destroyed.
It is only basic law in science.
It transforms from one form toanother.
(23:23):
When we look at nature, everytree gives, when it's mature,
many hundreds of seeds.
There's so much abundance ofthat creative capacity.
But when it's recognized in theperception of, so, if we move
out of, if it's possible to comewith me this, moving out of the
(23:44):
linearity that we're soentrenched in to perceive the
eternity, what is eternity?
And when you look at thecapacity of each generation of,
say, an oak tree, if it's nottampered with genetically or
whatever, that it, that itproduces its acorns, if its
(24:06):
environment is there, that that,in that acorn that you hold in
your hand.
It contains untold generationsof oak and there is a capacity
and there has been in nature ofthat vastness of perpetuating
(24:26):
from the ancient times throughto now.
It holds the seed of tomorrow,but everything is present in
this moment, in that seed too,and when humanity has lost the
capacity of wonder and thecapacity to uphold the
(24:48):
conditions for infinity, bothwithin ourselves and within how
we operate on the planet, that's, in a way, could be seen as a
symptom and as a consequence ofthat distortion that's happened
in how we perceive ourselves assoul and how the place of God or
(25:13):
as the divine within all of usbecame a tool for oppression and
control and domination anddivision within the human family
.
So that's a lot.
There take another conversationto go into that.
Aideen Ni Riada (25:29):
And it's quite prickly as well, because you
have to remember everyone'ssensitivities well, it's
interesting within that, as wellas the idea of the identities
that we ascribe to.
You know that we choose tobelieve that you know this is
important or that's important,or the fact that my you know, my
(25:52):
sibling is this political partyversus my political party, or,
like we're often choosing somany limiting um beliefs about
ourselves and those around us.
What would you say on apractical level, would help
someone, um you know to toidentify some of that and start
(26:21):
teasing those things out alittle bit um for themselves,
because, as as you said beforewe came on it's it's an
individual journey.
We need to also work on thesethings within our own life, our
own thoughts, our own smallinteractions on a daily basis
(26:43):
yeah, absolutely.
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (26:46):
Um, so you're asking me, what are the
practical level actions?
Actions to bring kind ofspiritual perceptions home to
how we are with one another?
I suppose, if we can rememberthe, there's this.
(27:06):
I suppose it comes from workingin groups as well, where you
have the sense of a field ofenergy that's bigger than any
one person, or bigger than thegroup themselves, or even in our
conversation, that there's athird presence.
This is what.
So, being able to attune oneselfto acknowledge that as well,
(27:30):
rather than getting entrenchedin the duality of self and other
or the tension of conflict, toacknowledge the witnessing
presence and the compassion thatcan be invoked through that,
and also acknowledging thehumility in that we don't know
(27:54):
what we don't know.
The humility in that we don'tknow what we don't know and that
sometimes the capacity toactually allow for that
unknowing is a portal to wonderand other solutions.
So to be able to sit with thenot knowing as well, which is a
(28:19):
very difficult thing to do in aculture that's maybe often one
person trying to demonstratepower over another to convince
them there's a tension in that.
Yeah, so being able to honorthe unknown and, through that,
access our genius, maybe that ismore than the sum of our parts,
whether it's two people talking, whether it's a couple, whether
(28:46):
it's a group of people, beingable to honour that.
And you know, I think it'sbecoming ever more important to
have a space for that, theunknown, maybe even the
unknowable, but that there ismore than just us and our little
.
Important to have a space forthat, the unknown, maybe even
the unknowable, but that thereis more than just us and our
little.
We think we know, but there'ssuch a vast amount of other
perspectives, other valuableknowing that might be able to
(29:12):
access us if we're able to giveit space, yes, and the thing
that's coming to my mind is howto sit in any moment and wait
rather than react or respondquickly.
Aideen Ni Riada (29:32):
because that's what's happening is, we're in a
pace of life where we'reresponding quickly and other and
technology responds so quicklyto us that this pace seems to be
relentless.
But to be able to see theunknown in a situation, to be
able to sit with someone andhear them out and not expect
(29:55):
something and not have aresponse prepared in your own
mind, that's a big ask for mostpeople and I think it will take
um, um, practice of beingpresent, practice of breathing
in a situation when you're withothers, um, because even in the
(30:20):
way that you tend to speak, youhave a lot of patience with the
moment.
You you don't tend to rush inwith your words, and I'm
wondering if the listeners couldapply that in a situation, a
practical situation of theirlives, and see the value of that
(30:40):
to pause, maybe, breathe,listen, and what would you say
to someone who's in that exactmoment?
What do they need to keep thatability to stay there and not,
(31:01):
you know, filter back into theold pattern?
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (31:06):
those visualizations are great and
remembering to.
I sometimes like to feel myfeet on the ground or just
imagine the vastness of space,even if you're indoors, just
suddenly let all the walls falldown and just feel that
spaciousness.
Let it be big enough to holdwhatever emotion, whatever stuff
(31:28):
you're dealing with.
Let it go on and on to be avery big space and take a breath
and then return.
That could all happen in theblink of an eye, just to come
back and allow yourself thatbigger container.
Because we know that whenthings are, when we're feeling
tight and tense, it's often thatpressure of you don't have
(31:49):
enough space, so allowing it allto just diffuse, and just for a
moment.
Aideen Ni Riada (32:00):
It's beautiful.
We're coming to the end of ourconversation and I just have so
loved your perspective.
There's so much depth in it andso poetic in the way you speak.
Now, I'm just grateful for that, and I'd like to thank you on
(32:22):
behalf of the listeners for the,for the ways that you've made
it practical for them to be ableto work with what you were
saying.
Is there anything else thatyou'd like to say to the
listeners before we wind thingsup in a few minutes?
Sharon Ní Chuilibín (32:38):
able to give permission for your
intuition to guide you and toknow that you are loved as a
(33:04):
child of the universe.
It's really like there's somuch.
I know we're in a very, verydark time and the planet it
seems, but there's also so muchbeauty in the world and in
ourselves, so much potential, sobeing able to anchor into that
(33:28):
deeper wisdom a greater spacefor it in your life, to just
listen.
Aideen Ni Riada (33:34):
I'm so grateful to youaron for coming onto the
podcast today.
I feel a lot of healing energycoming through this conversation
.
We will be um giving youlisteners the um access to
sharon through her website, andshe has amazing music that you
(33:55):
can access as well.
I'll be putting some links inthe show notes.
Thank you all for listening.
Thank you, sharon, for beinghere and goodbye from us today.
Thanks, thank you.
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